The Pages Come to Life
by SymbolicSynonym
Summary: Vivian embraced life with a certain expectancy of normality. Life, job, friends, neighbors, even romance. Until she started her new teaching position at Sunnydale High School, and met the school's own 'Scooby Gang'. After encountering them, Vivian's world takes on new shades of surrealistic qualities colored with monsters, magic, and even a certain librarian.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story takes place from Season Three onward and will contain spoils for the seasons. Also, this story contains an OC. If either of these pose a problem for you, then I suggest you read no farther than this.**

 **For those who have continued reading, welcome. First thing you should know: I'm a huge Buffy fan, have been for several years. I have a habit of trying to watch the seasons once every year (preferably around Halloween); however, even with that said, I do tend to forget things. Still, I do hope I manage to not screw things up too badly, and I hope you enjoy the first chapter.**

* * *

Buffy quickly turned down the light fixture aisle of the appliance store, heading after the horned demon that decided to make a run for it. She turned a corner, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw that she had lost the demon. Buffy sighed, slamming her hands down at her side.

"Great… Now he's 'Mister Magician'…" she mumbled with a small pout.

Buffy turned around, going to head back down the aisle to return to the back door; however, before she managed to get three steps in, she heard something. She slowly looked look up, just in time for the demon from earlier to jump down from one of the high shelves. The demon knocked Buffy down to the ground, sitting on top of her as he tried clawing her, but he couldn't get close while Buffy kept the axe between them. Buffy kicked up her feet, kicking the demon away from her. She jumped to her feet, swinging the axe at the demon, but it ducked and swung a claw towards her. The ducking and dodging continued between both parties, none making a scratch on the other.

"Can't you just let me hit you?" Buffy asked with a small roll of her head as she swung the axe again. The demon raised its arms, blocking expertly, which made Buffy grumble again. "Look, you and I both know who's going to win this. So why not just-" Because of Buffy's rambles, she neglected to avoid the demon's attack in time and got her arm grazed by its claws. She jumped away next, looking to her scratched arm and newly ripped shirt. "You just ripped my shirt!" Buffy looked at the demon. "Do you have any idea how much this shirt cost?" The demon simply growled in reply.

Sick and tired of the fight continuing, Buffy threw the axe over her head, making the ceiling fan overhead fall. She was hoping to crush the demon with the light, but with it still spinning, it ended up shredding the demon to bits and sending his green blood everywhere. Buffy found her shirt ruined yet again.

"Ew!" Buffy whined, looking down at her dirtied clothes. "Not only did you rip my shirt, you got your green goop all over it!" Buffy slammed her hands down at her sides, pouting at the recent turn of events. She sighed, picking up her axe, and turning to head back to the exit.

"How'd it go?" Willow asked, turning around to see Buffy just walking out of the door of the appliance store covered in green ooze.

"Oh, terrific," Buffy said, sarcastically. "I just ruined my favorite shirt with demon guts and claws." Buffy sighed again. "Why were they even here anyway?"

"Giles said they liked glue," Xander said, with a cheeky smile and a shrug. Xander grave two 'thumbs up' and grinned widely. "Hey, you saved the world from a glue crisis. Congratulations!"

Buffy and Willow stared at Xander for a moment or two before turning their back to him and walked away, beginning to talk amongst themselves.

"Guys?" Xander called, but the two didn't reply. "Come on guys! It was funny! Will? Buffy?" Xander sighed and quickly ran after his friends, trying hard to get them to notice him again.

* * *

The next day Buffy arrived at Sunnydale High's library to see most of her friends were there. Willow sat in a chair, legs stretched out on Oz's lap as they talked to each other. It was like it was their own little world whenever they talked with each other. Giles, on the other hand, was putting away books in the cage, all the while Wesley was off somewhere else, out of sight. The only person they seemed to be missing was Xander, which was odd.

"Good morning everyone," Buffy sung as she skipped up to the tables. She dropped her bag on the ground and jumped on the table, sitting beside Xander.

"Morning, Buffy," Willow chimed with a small giggle when she broke away from her conversation with Oz. "Did you manage to get your shirt cleaned?"

Buffy frowned and shook her head. "Nope. Green goop doesn't come out with a good wash." She lifted her head when seeing Giles walk out of the cage, head buried in a book like usual. "Morning, Giles."

"Oh, Buffy," Giles said, startled at first. He balanced the books in his hands, trying his best not to drop them again, and replied to Buffy. "Good morning."

"What are all those for?" Buffy asked, putting his elbows on her knees. She looked to Giles, looking at the books he had just set down next to her. "Research?"

"Yes," Giles answered with a heavy sigh. He put his hand on his hip and used the other to take off his glasses. "Before I forget, Wesley was-"

"Buffy, there you are!" Speak of the devil and he comes. Wesley hurried down the steps, heading over to Buffy with a dented axe in his hands, showing it to the young slayer. "I wanted to ask: Do you recognize this?"

Buffy looked at the axe, tilting her head to the side with a shrug. "A broken axe?" Buffy pointed to the axe with a chuckle and amused smile. "You know, that sort of looks like the one I-" Buffy cut herself off when she realized the point Wesley was making. "Oh…"

"Oh?" Wesley repeated. "Is that all you have to say?" Wesley dropped the axe onto the table, putting his hands on his hips. "Do you know how hard it is to come by these? You can't keep throwing them around, breaking and denting them, all you want."

"To be fair," Buffy said sheepishly with a shrug, "I did save the world from a glue crisis…"

"Glue?" Wesley repeated, scowling in some confusion. "T-That's—"

"There's our favorite Vampire Slayer!" Xander said, walking into the Library and interrupting Wesley's wonderful speech of how to use weapons properly. Xander jumped into a chair, making himself comfortable, and paying no attention to Wesley who was now scowling at him. "Hey, anyone hear that we've gotten a new English teacher?"

"Really?" Buffy questioned, seeming rather surprised. "That sounds nice. Sort of."

"I heard about that from a few others students," Willow said, dropping h. "But I haven't seen her yet…"

"Neither have I," Oz said, shrugging. "A lot of people have been talking though."

"Well," Xander said, "apparently she's taking over our English class since our last teacher quit… I can't believe she decided to quit in the middle of the year…" Xander waved his hands over his head, brushing off that part and getting back on track. "Besides that, I overheard the jocks talking. They all said that she's quite the babe."

"Any woman with boobs and a butt is a 'babe' to them…" Buffy mumbled in disgust. She soon perked and smiled, looking over to Giles. "What about you, Giles? You must have seen her, or heard something. Care to tell us any interesting secrets?"

Giles shook his head, shrugging and beginning to head to his bookshelves in the cage to gather more books. "Sorry, but even I haven't seen her yet. I heard from Principal Snyder that we were receiving someone new, but I hadn't-" Giles cut himself off when he and others heard the Library doors open.

Everyone seemed a bit surprised to see a woman, probably in her mid-thirties, walk in. She had reddish-brown hair with light highlights that was tied back with a green ribbon with round, silver rimmed, glasses that sat right on her nose. She wore a dark green skirt, high on her waist and reaching to her knees, with a white blouse tucked in and a pair of black high heels and green ribbon under her collar to match.

"Wow," Buffy mumbled, looking to the woman's outfit. "Look who popped out of the 1940s..."

The woman looked up from the paper she had been staring at, freezing when seeing the group in front of her, all staring. It seems that she hadn't heard Buffy's comment about her clothing.

"Oh…" the woman mumbled, putting a hand to her chest, as if she made a mistake. "This isn't the Auditorium…is it?"

"No it isn't," Buffy said with a smile, swinging her legs and jumping off the table. "Unless the auditorium suddenly became a storage facility for books." Buffy pointed to her left with a small chuckle. "The Auditorium is the next building over."

The woman smiled, shoulders dropping in relief. "Oh, thank you very much." The woman looked down to the paper. "I don't think Principal Snyder made me a very good map... It's nice to have a helpful hand from students." The woman looked up, turning her feet slightly in order to leave. "I'm sorry for interrupting you all."

"Don't worry about it," Oz said calmly, waving a hand.

"Oh, wait a minute," Willow said, jumping up to her feet and walked forward. "Are you the new teacher we heard about? Because"-Willow motioned to the clothes the woman is wearing-"you look like a teacher. Well, what I mean is…uh…" Willow held out her hand cheerfully, ignoring her previous words. "I'm Willow Rosenberg."

The woman chuckled and shook Willow's hand. "Willow… Right… Principle Snyder mentioned you." The woman looked past and towards the others. "I presume these are the others he mentioned?"

"If by 'mention' you mean he complained about the group of 'troublemakers' that always hang out in the Library…" Xander said, shrugging his shoulders. He held up his thumbs, smiling brightly. "Then you presume correctly."

Giles rolled his eyes, putting the two books he had gotten under his arm, and stepped over towards the woman. He held out his hand, offering a handshake as he introduced himself. "I'm Rupert Giles, the Librarian."

The woman shook Giles's hand, smiling back at him. "Vivian Hallowell, the new English teacher."

Buffy stepped forward, one hand behind her back as she held the other out. "I'm Buffy Summers." After getting a handshake from the new teacher, Buffy turned to the side, motioning to the two boys sitting in chairs. "The one who made the joke is Xander, and the quiet one is Oz."

"Hey," Oz said, raising a hand for a wave.

Miss Hallowell bowed her head to them, and turned back to Buffy. "Buffy Summers…. Principle Snyder mentioned _a lot_ about you."

Buffy's back tensed and it was noticeable in her shoulders. "Really?"

Miss Hallowell nodded her head, crossing her arms. "He told me you have a habit of skipping out on classes, and don't turn in your work." Miss Hallowell glanced to the rest of the crew briefly. "He also told me you and your friends tend to cause a lot of mischief."

"W-Well…" Buffy couldn't necessarily deny the claims, because most of it was true. Due to slayer duties, Buffy, most of the time, never gets the chance to finish homework or projects. But it's not like she did it intentionally.

Miss Hallowell chuckled. "Don't worry, none of that means a thing to me." Buffy's shoulders slackened in relief. "To me, those are claims without proof until it happens in my class." She smiled to the others. "So, for now, you all have good standing in my book."

The group was pleased with the teacher's kindness to them, and decided to change subjects before she changed her mind.

"You just move here, Miss Hallowell?" Xander asked, resting his elbows against his knees.

"Yes, I did," Miss Hallowell answered, putting her hands back at her sides. "Still moving in, actually." Miss Hallowell turned her head, looking to Wesley, who had quickly hidden the axe behind his back when she looked to him. "I don't believe I got your name…"

"Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," the young watcher said, holding out a hand for a handshake, almost showing that axe once again.

"I don't believe Principle Snyder mentioned you," Miss Hallowell said, her eyebrows creasing as she tilted her head curiously.

"Oh, really?" Wesley said nervously. "I-I wouldn't expect him to. W-We rarely meet. I, uh…" Wesley smiled when he finally came up with an excuse. "I help Mr. Giles around the library occasionally."

Miss Hallowell smiled, oblivious to lie she had just been fed. "Oh, well, it's always good to have a helping hand around, right?" She looked to Giles, as if seeing he agreed. Giles merely smiled and played along with a nod of his head. He had to admit, it was a clever lie, but it wouldn't last for long.

The bell rang, causing the group to break from their conversation and look back.

"Oh, well," Miss Hallowell sighed, "that's my cue to get to class." She looked to the group, bowing her head to each other them. "It was a pleasure to meet you all." She looked to the teenagers. "And don't be late for class."

"Yes, Ma'am," Xander said with a weak salute.

"It was nice meeting you, Miss Hallowell," Willow said with a wave.

"If you need any help finding your way around campus, don't hesitate to ask," Oz said with his own smile.

"I'll keep that in mind," Miss Hallowell said. She then left, leaving the group to disperse on their own and get to their respected duties.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the beginning of fourth period, and Buffy was in her seat before the bell rang. She was impressed with herself, since usually when Wesley or Giles decided to go on one of their tirades, she never made it to class before the bell rung. And she surely never made it to class before the teacher, who had yet to be here.

To be honest, Buffy was beginning to get worried for the new teacher, wondering if Miss Hallowell had gotten lost again. Perhaps she had found herself somewhere else entirely, or found herself in a closet.

Buffy couldn't help but laugh at the idea.

Soon the door to the classroom opened and Miss Hallowell rushed in, hair beginning to fall out of her ribbon, and her glasses beginning to tip off her nose. She held numerous books in her hands, some having papers and such sticking out of them. She looked like she had run all the way across campus, which wouldn't be unlikely.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Miss Hallowell said. She dropped the books she held on to the desk at the front of the classroom and looked up. After straightening her glasses, and her clothes, she spoke again, this time adding in her introduction. "I got lost on campus, I'm sad to admit. But I'm Miss Hallowell, your new English teacher." Miss Hallowell lifted her eyebrows and pointed to a student who had his hand raised.

"What happened to Mrs. Fester?" he asked, looking around the classroom to those who agreed.

Miss Hallowell sighed, shifting in her spot a bit. "I'm sorry to say that Mrs. Fester resigned her position here last week. I was asked to fill in for her." Miss Hallowell looked down to a paper in her hands. "Principle Snyder gave me an outline of Mrs. Fester's lesson plan, but…" She fell silent for a moment, storming over her own thoughts before lifting her head. She took the paper in both hands and shredded it multiple times, throwing the shredded pieces into the air. "I won't be using it."

Many seemed shocked with her declaration, considering it was the middle of the school year. Buffy could guess what kind of face Willow would make once she heard this.

"Consider this a fresh start," Miss Hallowell said, looking to each student. She didn't seem to be as nervous as she was when she first walked in, and she acted like she had been working there for weeks. "Your last few homework assignments will still count, and any projects that Mrs. Fester had planned are no longer required. Instead, I will be giving you a new project, one I'm expecting you to finish by tomorrow."

Many grumbled at this, mumbling to each other that it only gave the class one day to work on. If this paper was anything like the papers Mrs. Fester demanded of them, then three days will not give them much time.

Miss Hallowell chuckled at the reaction, having expected it. "Before you all start grumbling, I'm sure you'll all find this project very easy." Miss Hallowell placed her hands behind her back, stepping around her desk. "I want you all to write a paper about yourselves. All I require is that you give me more than just a page." Miss Hallowell smiled to her new students. "I want to learn more about the students I will be teaching, and as for today's class, I'll allow you to get a head start on this project." She turned back to her desk, sorting through numerous papers before picking up a clipboard and turning back to the class. "That is after I take roll…"

As class went on in silence, it felt like it had only been minutes before the bell rang for it to end. Everyone was quick to exit the class, even Buffy. However, unlike the rest, Buffy tended to be lost in her thoughts, coming to one conclusion:

She had nothing to write about for Miss Hallowell's project.

* * *

"I can't believe she dropped that project on us…" Xander mumbled with a blank look on his face. He stuffed a piece of his sandwich into his mouth, chewing aimlessly.

Willow looked up from her fiddling of the grass, and shrugged. "Well, at least we don't have that large assignment Mrs. Fester had for us." Willow lowered her head, slacking her shoulders. "But I had already gotten a head start on the homework…"

Oz patted Willow's shoulder, earning him a smile from her.

Buffy slouched her own shoulders, fiddling with a chip between her fingers. She was about to bring up the fact that they all had things to write about for Miss Hallowell's project, but her attention was drawn to said teacher when seeing her across the field, arguing with Principle Snyder near the lockers. Whatever they were arguing about, it seemed Snyder was the most annoyed about it.

Xander noticed Buffy's attention drawn elsewhere, and followed the slayer's eyes to see the argument. Xander sighed, getting the attention of Willow and Oz, who turned to look at the argument unfolding as well. It wasn't long before Principle Snyder gave his last words and stormed away, leaving Miss Hallowell standing in the hall, hand to her forehead.

"I wonder what that was about…" Oz mumbled.

"Probably nothing good," Xander grumbled.

Willow frowned, scowling at seeing Miss Hallowell standing in the hall, looking quite distressed. She saw no reason why the new teacher should be that way on her first day. A teacher's first day should be exciting and fun, right? Willow stood to her feet and walked over to where Miss Hallowell was, ignoring the questions coming from Buffy and Xander.

"Miss Hallowell?" Willow called.

The teacher raised her head and turned around, a forced smile coming to her face when seeing Willow. "Oh, Willow, was there something you needed?"

Willow motioned over her shoulder, in the direction Principle Snyder had stormed off in. "Is everything alright? I saw you arguing with Principle Snyder." She might as well tell the truth and see what the problem was, right? Whatever was wrong, Willow hoped she could help.

Miss Hallowell chuckled, waving a hand. "Oh, it was nothing." Miss Hallowell sighed, shaking her head. "Principle Snyder was just asking me about something for Graduation." The young teacher put her hands on her hips, shaking her head as she began speaking to herself through her teeth. "That man is insufferable… Why I put up with…?" She brought a hand to the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes to ignoring the sudden throbbing in her head.

It was clear to Willow that whatever Principle Snyder had said to her had really made her angry.

"Oh, I know," Willow said gleefully. She motioned her hands over to where her friends were, smiling to the teacher. "Why don't you join us for lunch? You can, maybe, get to know some of your students better." Willow chuckled, nervously, with a shrug of her shoulders. "Then maybe we can show you around campus, since you keep getting lost."

Miss Hallowell laughed, seeming to have cheered up a bit since Willow had first spoken to her. "That is a nice offer, Willow, but I'm afraid I really need to be getting back to my classroom. Perhaps later I'll take up the offer."

Willow nodded in understanding as the teacher began to walk away.

"Oh, and Willow?" Miss Hallowell said, suddenly stopping and turning back. Willow was startled slightly, making the chuckle as she pointed over to where Buffy, Xander, and Oz were. "You might want to warn Mr. Harris about the table he's sitting on. It seems rather unstable, and I wouldn't want to see him get hurt."

Willow nodded her head, and Miss Hallowell continued on her way. Willow left also, returning over to where her friends were.

"So?" Xander poked. "What did she say?"

Willow frowned, biting the inside of her cheek. "She said it was about graduation." Willow turned her head, pointing down to the table. "And she said you might not want to sit on the table. It looks pretty unstable."

Xander shooed Willow's words off, jumping in his place. "Pssh, I'm fine. This table can hold me, see?" It was shortly after saying that when the table collapsed into itself, making Xander fall and hit his head on one of the planks of wood.

* * *

"She wants you to right a report about yourself?" Angel asked, a small chuckle hidden in his voice.

"That's what she said," Buffy said, swinging her arms at her side as they walked through the graveyard. Buffy had asked Angel to join her that night for patrol, figuring she could talk to him about the whole thing, and maybe find an answer to her question. "And I have no idea what to write about."

Angel shrugged his shoulders. "Just...tell the truth."

Buffy stopped in her tracks, giving a sarcastic laugh. "Right. 'I'm Buffy Summers and I'm the Slayer. I stay up late every night hunting vampires and demons. Oh, have I mentioned I'm saving the world, again?'" Buffy looked to Angel dryly. "I can't just tell her something like that."

"I never said you have to."

"You just said—"

Angel quickly cut in. "Buffy, I said to tell the truth. I never said you have to tell her about being the Slayer." Angel shrugged his shoulders. "But even if you did tell her all about it, would she believe you?"

"She could…" Buffy said with a small pout of her lips. She thought about it for a moment longer, beginning to think that Angel was probably right, he usually was. So, Buffy came up to the conclusion that she should listen to him, and wrote an honest report about herself. It wasn't until later that she began to regret it.

* * *

 **The ending of this chapter was not what I wanted it to be, but it was the best I could come up with. I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter still, and I hope you look forward to the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm pointing this out now, because I know SOMEONE is going to sooner or later: I know I switch between calling her 'Miss Hallowell' and 'Vivian', and I have a specific reason for doing this that I can't explain. So, please note, that it is not an error or something. I do have a reason for doing it.**

 **That said, please enjoy.**

* * *

It had almost been a full week since Vivian Hallowell had begun her teaching position at Sunnydale High, and in these days, she had found herself busier and busier. She had been buried in paperwork from her students, and from Principle Snyder himself, wanting some things specifically done before Graduation a few months from now.

As Vivian walked down the halls early in the morning, heading to her classroom. She found herself looking over the left over projects that needed to be graded as she stumbled to keep her books in her hand, and her bag on her shoulder. She was paying little to no attention to where she was going, and it was not surprising when she ended up running into someone else.

Miss Hallowell's books and papers fell to the floor, along with what books the person she had run into carried. Vivian's bag had also fallen to the ground, scattering most of what had been inside.

"I am so sorry," Vivian hastily said, kneeling to the ground to gather her things. "I should have been paying more attention to—" Miss Hallowell cut off her words when she lifted her head, surprised to see the person she had run into was the school's librarian, who was also surprised to see her.

"Miss Hallowell," Giles said, straightening his glasses.

"Mr. Giles…" Vivian mumbled right back, offering a polite smile. She looked down to the scattered supplies. "I'm sorry that I ran into you. I really should have been paying more attention." She gave a nervous chuckle. "I guess I forgot where I was…"

Giles gave an amused smile, helping Vivian gather her things, as well as his own. "It's alright, Miss Hallowell. I should have been paying more attention to where I was going as well." He gathered the papers from the floor into a neat stack, and handed them over just as Miss Hallowell was handing him some of the books he had dropped. They both chuckled at this, taking each of the belongings before standing to their feet.

"You're here early," Giles pointed out, gripping his books under his arm. "I don't often see you before classes start."

Miss Hallowell laughed as she nodded her head. "You noticed too? I was hoping to do some early grading." She looked down to the papers in her hands, chuckling again. "You can see how well that's going."

Giles pointed lazily to the books in her arms. "Would you like some help getting back to the classroom?"

Vivian shook her head, nervously smiling. "Oh, no, I wouldn't want to—" Giles raised a hand, making her words cut off.

"It's not a problem, Miss Hallowell," he said kindly. "It's the least I could do."

Vivian was hesitant at first, but smiled in appreciation as she handed over some of her books. After doing so, both adults began heading down the hall together, conversing lightly along the way. Aside from the occasional 'hello's when passing by each other on campus, Giles and Vivian had never gotten the chance to talk. Miss Hallowell took this opportunity to learn more about one of her coworkers.

"How long have you worked here, Mr. Giles?" Vivian asked, turning her head to the librarian.

"Hm?" Giles looked to the teacher beside him momentarily, before looking back to focus on where he was walking. "Oh, I…" Giles's words ran off for a moment as he thought. He let out a chuckle when no number came to mind. "I honestly don't remember."

Miss Hallowell also chuckled at this. "Has it been that long?"

"It feels like it," Giles admitted. He turned to Vivian again. "Have you been teaching long?"

Vivian took in a deep breath, mulling over her answer. "I've been teaching for six or seven years." Miss Hallowell glanced over to Giles, giving an almost playful smirk. "But, I admit, I was only a substitute before I came here."

The two turned a corner.

"A substitute where, if I may ask?" Giles said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Schools around L.A. mostly," Vivian said. "It was never a specific school." Miss Hallowell smiled at the librarian. "It's nice to be in one school now, being able to connect with the kids more."

"Well, I know many of them enjoy your class," Giles said, stuffing a hand into his pocket. "Willow has taken a great interest, and I haven't heard one complaint out of Xander. Even Cordelia came into the Library asking for a book you had mentioned."

Vivian laughed at this, before biting down on her lip, thinking. "Are you close with Buffy and her friends?"

Giles seemed to tense at the question. "They come to library often… So, I suppose you could say that we are. Why do you ask?"

Miss Hallowell shook her head, smiling at the Librarian. "Oh, no reason." Vivian shrugged her shoulders. "Curiosity I suppose. I see you all together, mumbling among yourselves often."

Luckily for Giles, he didn't need to come up with an excuse because they reached Miss Hallowell's classroom. It didn't take her long to open the classroom door, allowing them both to walk in and set the books onto the desk

"Thank you so much for helping me, Mr. Giles," Vivian said patting her stack of books.

"It wasn't a problem, Miss Hallowell," he replied with a gentle smile. He switched his own books to under his other arm, stepping towards the door. He stopped, however, and turned to the teacher again. "Was there anything else you needed help with?"

Vivian bent down to her bottom drawer, opening it and began digging around. "Not unless you know how to work a projector?"

Giles couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head. "No, I'm afraid I don't." He fixed his classes once again, just as Miss Hallowell was getting back to her feet. "Electronics have never been my forte."

"Nor have they been mine," Miss Hallowell chuckled, fiddling with a remote in her hand. "Perhaps I could catch one of the kids before class…"

Giles glanced down for a moment, Miss Hallowell's necklace easily catching his eye. It was a symbol he recognized from his books: A square with circular corners.

"Miss Hallowell"—Vivian lifted her head, looking to Giles to see him pointing at her necklace—"your necklace… Is that…?"

"Oh, this?" Vivian replied, picking up her necklace between her fingers. "My grandmother gave it to me the last time I visited home. She said it was…"

"A Celtic symbol for protection." The two looked to each other, both surprised that they had spoken at the same time.

Seeing a confused look growing on Vivian's face, Giles explained himself, taking some steps towards the desk. "I have a book, back at the library that has some of those symbols in it. If I remember correctly, it's a symbol to protect one against spirts or malevolent influences." Giles tilted his head curiously. "You said your grandmother gave it to you the last time you visited home. Does that mean…?"

Vivian chuckled, nervously fiddling with her books. "I'm originally from Ireland."

"Really? You don't sound like it."

"I was raised in America, but I was born in Ireland." Vivian shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever accent I have, I hide it well. But there are occasions where it slips." She took another quick look to her books, tilting her head off to the side when she met eyes with Giles again. "Perhaps I could borrow that book sometime? I don't know much about these symbols, and I would love to—"

"Of course," Giles quickly said. He motioned back over his shoulder, turning slightly towards the door. "I'll have it ready for you at the library."

Miss Hallowell's smile brightened as she nodded her head. "Thank you very much. I'll be sure to come by."

"I look forward to it," Giles replied with his own smile. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Giles said his goodbyes and exited the classroom, beginning to head back to the library. To say he hadn't enjoyed his conversation with the new teacher would have been a lie, and he looked forward to the next conversation they would have.

* * *

 **I try ending all my chapters between 1000 and 1500 words, which is the reason I ended here. I hope you all enjoyed, and look forward to the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

When Giles walked into the Library, he was surprised to find his four usual visitors sitting around the usual set of tables. Buffy and Xander were staring off into space, eyes seemingly glued onto the tabletop, while Oz and Willow were the only two who noticed Giles's entry and welcomed him.

"Did something happen?" Giles asked, setting his books on the counter as he passed.

"They got their reports back from Miss Hallowell…" Willow answered with a sheepish smile.

Giles nodded his head in understanding, turning his gaze briefly to the two teens slouched in their chairs. "And, I assume, it was bad?"

"Oh no," Willow quickly said, leaning forward. "It just…wasn't what they expected."

"She gave me an A," Buffy said, pursing her lips in thought. She looked up, meeting the librarian's eyes. "She told me I would be a good book author."

"I don't see how that's a bad thing, Buffy," Giles said with a chuckle. He scowled in confusion as he turned to Xander. "And what about you, Xander?"

Xander lifted his head, stiffening in his spot. "Oh, uh… I'd…rather not talk about it." Xander cleared his throat, looking around to all the eyes looking at him, before easily changing subjects. "Am I the only one who finds Miss Hallowell really…odd?"

"'Odd'?" Oz repeated, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Xander said. "She's too perfect! She has to be a demon, or hiding some deep, dark, secret, right? That's just our luck!" Xander snapped his fingers, nodding his head at his 'brilliant' idea. "Maybe she's working for the mayor."

"I don't think we should be judging her just yet, Xander," Giles said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He crossed his arms over his chest, shifting his stance. "From what I've seen, Miss Hallowell is just a very thoughtful individual. There is nothing odd about that."

The conversation got no farther than this before Wesley barged into the library, waving that morning's paper in his hand. He seemed frantic, breathing heavily as if he had just run a marathon, which could have been likely. He stopped at the foot of the tables, bending over to catch his breath before he actually spoke.

"We have an urgent issue," Wesley said.

"No incident free days, huh?" Xander cracked under his breath.

"A woman was killed last night," Wesley said, ignoring Xander's remark. He picked up the paper from the table and flashed the front page. "She was sucked dry of her youth."

The teens all looked at the paper. A picture of a corpse was on the left hand side, under the not-so-original title for the article. The body looked old, like a mummy's corpse sprawled in the middle of the park. The article seemed to suggest what Wesley had just said, that the young woman had been sucked of her youth, which should have been impossible.

"I suggest we begin investigating immediately," Wesley said towards Buffy. "We don't know when this demon will strike again." Wesley set down the paper and walked over to gather some books in the cage.

"I can look online to see if there have been any other incidents," Willow suggested with a shrug.

"I'll go patrol by the park," Buffy sighed, grabbing her jacket off the back of a chair as she stood. "Maybe whatever did this would show up again, or I can find something to help narrow a search."

"Just be careful," Giles said.

With that said, Buffy left with the usual skip in her step.

* * *

Buffy sat on the swing, gently kicking her legs to get herself to go back and forth, all the while staring into the darkness around her. There was nothing. No clues, and surely no demon. Perhaps it was a one night deal.

"Here demon, demon, demon," Buffy taunted, picking at the hilt of the axe lying in her lap. She sighed when seeing, and hearing, nothing. Buffy got to her feet, grabbing her backpack from the ground and stuffed the axe inside. "I guess you're not here." She decided to leave, turning her back to the swingset.

As Buffy exited the park, she gave one last look over her shoulder, feeling like something was there, watching her.

Nothing. The same as before.

Buffy continued on her way, not bothering to look back over her shoulder again until she heard the bushes rustle. She knew it wasn't the wind.

"Alright," Buffy grumbled, rolling her head and turning around. "Come on out. I know-" The demon jumped out of the bushes and knocked Buffy off her feet. The slayer looked up, grimacing at the sight of an ugly horned beast in front of her. Buffy used all the strength she could muster to keep the demon's hands from wrapping around her neck.

The demon took one hand away, grabbing the necklace from around it's neck, and held it out towards Buffy. The necklace began glowing yellow as it inched closer. Buffy tried backing away, but with her back against solid concrete, there was little she could do.

Buffy reached a hand up towards her backpack, fingers brushing against the axe sticking out of it. It took her a few tries to get the axe firmly in her hands, but once it was, she swung the axe. The demon jumped off Buffy, holding it's forearm as it screamed. The demon didn't stay long after, quickly running off.

Buffy stood to her feet, looking in the direction the demon went in. It was gone. Long gone. But the pendent it had was left behind, lying on the ground. Buffy decided to take it.

"You were attacked?" Giles repeated, lifting his head from his book.

"Yup," Buffy replied. She jumped onto the table her friends were around, crossing her legs and dropping her backpack down next to her. "This big, horny, thing came out from the bushes and attacked me." Buffy shrugged her shoulders. "I slashed its arm before it ran off." Buffy searched through her backpack, pulling out the pendent she picked up the night before, handing it over to Giles. "It left this behind."

Giles pushed up his glasses and inspected the pendent in his hand, turning it every way possible. He recognized it from his many books, but he couldn't recall which one.

"Interesting," Wesley mumbled. The young watcher walked to the table Buffy was sitting on, flipping over a rather large book, and continued to speak without even lifting his head. "Would you say this demon had six horns? Or was it more of eight?"

"I was kind of busy trying not to become ash from glowing pendent it was throwing near my face," Buffy replied sarcastically.

"Glowing?" This made Wesley lift his head, shutting his book. "So the demon uses this...pendent to suck the youth out of his victims."

"There's no side effects, right?" Xander asked, lifting an eyebrow. "Because that thing got pretty close, from the sounds of it."

"We won't know until we find it," Giles replied, crossing his arms. "I doubt it does, but we'll keep an eye out just in case."

"I couldn't find any more cases like this," Willow said rather sadly. "If this isn't the first attack, then there aren't any records on it, even at the Library."

The group stopped their conversation and turned their heads upon hearing the Library doors open. Miss Hallowell walked in, holding her black purse to her shoulder, while her other hand carried a few literature books for her class.

"Miss Hallowell," Giles greeted with a smile, "good morning."

"And a good morning to you, Mr. Giles," Vivian greeted back, returning the gracious smile with one of her own. She flashed a similar smile to the others gathered, silently wishing the same to them, before turning her eyes back to the librarian. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Wesley opened his mouth to respond, but Giles quickly cut in with a much nicer response then the young watcher had planned. "Of course not. Was there something we could help you with?"

Miss Hallowell pulled out a slip of paper from one of her books and handed it over. "Well, I ran into a small problem this morning. I left two books I was planning on using for my lectures at home, and I don't have enough time to run home and get them. I was hoping you had them here."

Giles looked at the piece of paper, adjusting his glasses so they didn't fall to the floor. "I believe I have these, but give me a minute to check."

Miss Hallowell nodded her head in response before Giles walked away to check the cage for the books she needed.

"Oh, Miss Hallowell!" Willow gasped. She pointed down to the large bandage wrapped around the teacher's forearm, peeking out from under her white blouse. "What happened to your arm?"

Some, even Giles, froze in their place momentarily at hearing Willow.

"Oh, this?" Miss Hallowell asked, lifting up her arm. "My bookshelf fell yesterday." The teacher shook her head, scoffing in disbelief. "Strangest thing. I thought it was sturdy, but, place one book on it, the whole thing collapsed." The teacher bit her lip, mumbling to herself. "I swear I made sure it was fixed…"

"Are you alright?" Buffy asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, yes," Miss Hallowell answered quickly, flashing the blonde a smile. "I'm a fast healer. No need to be concerned."

"Here are the books you asked for, Miss Hallowell," Giles interrupted, walking up beside the teacher.

Miss Hallowell smiled, but it quickly faded when seeing an extra book in her stack. "But I only needed-"

"It's the book I mentioned the other day," Giles said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Perhaps you'll get a chance to look through it."

"That's very sweet, Mr. Giles," Miss Hallowell said. "Thank you." As if she remembered she wasn't alone, Miss Hallowell took a deep breath, breaking eye contact with the former watcher, and looked to the others all watching. "Well"-she looked back to Giles-"I suppose I should get back to the classroom. Thank you, again, Mr. Giles." She turned towards the three teens. "And I hope to see you three in class."

"Wouldn't miss it," Buffy replied sarcastically.

Miss Hallowell smiled one more time before exiting the library.

"You guys talked about books?" Buffy immediately said after the teacher left, scrunching her eyebrows.

"Yes, if you must know," Gile sighed, turning to the girl. "I can have a decent conversation with another person once-in-awhile."

"But books?" Buffy said. "I mean, if you really wanna hit it off with Miss Hallowell, I don't think books is a go-to conversation starter. Maybe next time don't talk about something so job related."

"Can we just talk about that scratch on her arm?" Xander cut in, breaking between the slayer and her former watcher.

"Very convenient," Wesley said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"It could have just been a coincidence!" Willow reasoned. She looked to her friends, her expression showing how worried she was. "Miss Hallowell is a very nice person. There's no way she's the demon! Or any demon, for that matter!"

"Come on, Will," Xander said. "Miss Hallowell is-"

" _Not_ a monster."

"At this point, all we have is speculation," Giles said. "Our main priority is to deal with the problem at hand. And if Xander's theory proves to be correct"-Willow shot Giles a glare, one he raised a finger at, keeping her from speaking-" _if-_ then we'll deal with it."

"In the meantime," Wesley said, putting his book under his arm, "Willow, will you run a background check on Miss Hallowell?" It was his turn to received the brunette's glare. "Just in case."

Willow frowned, but agreed to Wesley's request.


End file.
